Thursday, January 08, 2015

In one of Spain's many
cabalgata processions on the eve of Los Reyes, one of the 3 kings was
killed when he was knocked off his throne by an overhead cable and
landed on his head. Will anyone be sued for this fatal negligence or
even just lose his/her job? I rather doubt it. Various factors here seem
to militate against consequences that are routine elsewhere.
Especially as regards corrupt administrators and politicians.

In 2006, for an outlay
of just €30, the Catholic Church acquired the title to the Great
Mosque in Córdoba. Their next step was to re-name it the Holy Cathedral Church, on the basis that a 15th century church had been
stuck in the middle of this magnificent building. And now, to cap it
all, the church has filled the mosque with Catholic icons and symbols
- plus cribs - as part of an exhibition. Including a statue of of San
Juan de Ávila right next to the wonderful mihrab. Those who are
affronted by this cultural vandalism can sign a petition on
change.org, here

Differing cultures: I
read this paragraph yesterday on the differences between US and
French cultures when it comes to kissing and talking to people you
don't know: In 1987, Raymonde Carroll, published a classic on the topic. It identifies
the key divide between the French and the Americans over the rules of
intimacy. The French, says Carroll, will only have conversations with
people with whom they are already intimate, while Americans will only
touch people with whom they are already intimate. But though Americans
won’t touch strangers, they will talk to them. They will chat to
people at neighbouring tables in restaurants, or in line at the
supermarket. That conversation doesn’t turn the speakers into
friends – a mistake Europeans sometimes make. Generalising grossly:
to Americans, conversation doesn’t imply intimacy. For those poor folk trying
to understand us Brits, this is the key point:- Applying Carroll’s
theories to Britons, you understand why foreigners think we are
repressed. Americans won’t touch strangers; the French won’t talk
to them; but Brits will neither touch nor talk to them. I'm more than
happy to say I'm no longer British in this regard. As I said to my
daughter last night, I get a kick out of seeing the look of shock on
the faces of British women who are surprised when I wave aside their
outstretched hands and kiss them on both cheeks. "It might not
just be shock", she was kind enough to remark. Bloody novelist!

The Spanish, by the way, will touch, kiss and talk to anyone, whether they know them or not. This is one of the main reasons I love them. As it means you get kissed by a lot of beautiful women. And quite a few handsome men.

The EU and the
eurozone: The commentator Ambrose Pierce-Evans is, I believe, a
supporter of the EU but not of the euro. He is particularly critical
of the impact of northern European policies which have devastated the
economies of southern Europe. Click here for his latest overview -
Deflation is the Final Betrayal of Southern Europe.

Finally . . . The Galician Traffic Police police stopped 22,000 drivers in the week before Xmas and
only 300 of them tested positive for alcohol. Or 1.4%. Still too
many, of course, but the police must have been ambivalent about the
low numbers, having probably failed to hit their end-year revenue
targets. By the way . . . one of the 'motoring' offences committed by pedestrians in La Coruña the other day was crossing the central reservation.